Pope Francis Is Meeting With Donald Trump, But They May Not Get Along

[rug]

BY JULIA GLUM ON 5/4/17 AT 3:13 PM

The Vatican confirmed Thursday that President Donald Trump will meet with Pope Francis later this month, marking the latest event in their short-but-rocky relationship.

After recently claiming that Trump had not officially asked for an audience with the Roman Catholic leader on his upcoming trip to Italy, the Vatican said the duo would meet May 24 at 8:30 a.m. local time, according to the National Catholic Register. Press secretary Sean Spicer has insisted Trump "would be honored to have an audience with his holiness," but how the encounter will actually go remains unclear, given their past.

Ahead of the meeting, check out how their previous encounters have gone:

The saga kicked off in February 2013, when Trump, then just a tycoon, criticized Pope Benedict XVI for his decision to step down. "The Pope should not have resigned—he should have lived it out," Trump tweeted. "It hurts him, it hurts the church."

http://www.newsweek.com/trump-pope-francis-history-controversy-594679

[no_hypocrisy]

1. It's going to kill Trump to be denied the ability to tell the Pope how to do his job.

[rug]

2. One can only hope.

[Volstagg]

3. Hopefully Trump can change Francis' mind about gay marriage

There are other areas where Trump is to the left of the Pope.

[rug]

4. That would be like an anus instructing the corpus callosum.

trump is not a progressive in any sense of the word. He is a sheer opportunist on every political issue.

[Volstagg]

5. Trump doesn't want to abolish gay marriage; Francis does.

That might hurt, but it's the clear position of each.

[rug]

6. trump wants the government to allow discrimination by states.

He has the power and is using it.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/05/04/presidential-executive-order-promoting-free-speech-and-religious-liberty

Are you actually arguing trump is less a scumbag than the pope?

[Volstagg]

7. I'm talking about one specific issue

Compare:
1. Same-sex marriage is a diabolical effort of the Father of Lies to destroy God’s plan.
2. These cases have gone to the Supreme Court. They’ve been settled. And I’m — I’m fine with that.

Now, the new Executive Order is clearly Pence's baby and is likely unconstitutional. Additionally, it does nothing to make gay marriage illegal. It is shitty and supports bigotry. I get that. But even Trump isn't trying to overturn Obergefell. The Pope on the other hand....

[rug]

8. Single issue voters end up in the strangest places. Be careful who you end up with.

trump is a horror and a danger throughout his narcissisistic being. The same cannot be said of Francis. You can easily disagree and oppose him on any number of issues without blindly yapping at him every time he speaks. Objectively, he is a force for good overall.

Unless, of course, your paramount single issue is rank antitheism, which is a pretty fucked up position all by itself.

Your restatement of their respective positions is dangerously inaccurate and placec you dangerously close to defending trump on his position on civil same sex marriage. It is stunning you state it the day after he openly supports a species of "religious freedom" that can multiply the Kim Davis bacteria across every county in this country. You may be ""fine with that" but I'm not. I can only imagine your opinion of trump's muslim ban. Because . . . . religion!

[Volstagg]

9. You sure are a pro at building strawmen.

Not to mention defecting issues.

But, I am in no way a Trump supporter. Additionally, I have no desire to support the current Pope. In any stretch. Sure, he seems to have a good attitude toward the poor, but are you seriously standing behind a guy/institution that is overtly anti-woman, anti-gay, has protected pedophiles and sent them to new places to abuse again, and a host of other very anti-progressive stances? Yeah. Trumps a dick. So is the Pope.

You seem pretty eager to call tag something with antitheism just because they point out the RCC is not progressive and the Pope isn't awesome. Why are you so eager to protect that anti-progressive organization? I think what Trump is doing is horrible. I have just pointed out that he is to the left of the Pope on some issues. Some issues he isn't. That doesn't change the fact that Trump is anti-progressive. Also doesn't change the fact that the Pope is also anti-progressive.

Oh, and the Muslim ban was fucking ridiculous.

[rug]

10. That's because I've seen so much of it in here, usually directed at religion.

Here's an example:

You seem pretty eager to call tag something with antitheism just because they point out the RCC is not progressive and the Pope isn't awesome.

There's no "just because" about it. It is pretty clear from your posts what your position on religion is - it ain't "protheism". We can clear it up right now. I'll take your answer at your word - unless later evidence leads to another conclusion. Is this your view or not?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines antitheist as "One opposed to belief in the existence of a god". The earliest citation given for this meaning dates from 1833. Antitheism has been adopted as a label by those who regard theism as dangerous, destructive, or encouraging of harmful behavior. Christopher Hitchens offers an example of this approach in Letters to a Young Contrarian (2001), in which he writes: "I'm not even an atheist so much as I am an antitheist; I not only maintain that all religions are versions of the same untruth, but I hold that the influence of churches, and the effect of religious belief, is positively harmful."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antitheism

Your answer will save a lot of time. You've already misstated my opinion. Now you can state your own.